On the edge of a new frontier: Is gerontological social work in the UK ready to meet twenty-first-century challenges?

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website. Copyright @ 2013 The Authors.This article explores the readiness of gerontological social work in the UK for meeting the challenges of an ageing society by investigating the focus on work with older people in social work education and the scope of gerontological social work research. The discussion draws on findings from two exploratory studies: a survey of qualifying master's programmes in England and a survey of the content relating to older people over a six-year period in four leading UK social work journals. The evidence from master's programmes suggests widespread neglect of ageing in teaching content and practice learning. Social work journals present a more nuanced picture. Older people emerge within coverage of generic policy issues for adults, such as personalisation and safeguarding, and there is good evidence of the complexity of need in late life. However, there is little attention to effective social work interventions, with an increasingly diverse older population, or to the quality of gerontological social work education. The case is made for infusing content on older people throughout the social work curriculum, for extending practice learning opportunities in social work with older people and for increasing the volume and reporting of gerontological social work research.Brunel Institute for Ageing Studie

Older persons' experiences and perspectives of receiving social care: a systematic review of the qualitative literature

The topic of social care for older people has gained increasing attention from the part of academics, professionals, policy makers and media. However, we know little about this topic from the perspectives of older persons, which hinders future developments in terms of theory, empirical research, professional practice and social policy. This article presents and discusses a systematic review of relevant qualitative research-based evidence on the older persons' experiences and perspectives of receiving social care published between 1990 and September 2014. This review aimed to obtain answers to the following questions: How is the reception of social care experienced by the older persons? What are the negative and positive aspects of these experiences? What are the factors which influence the experiences? The synthesis of the findings of reviewed papers identified six analytical themes: asking for care as a major challenge; ambivalences; (dis)engagement in decisions concerning care; multiple losses as outcomes of receiving social care; multiple strategies to deal with losses originated by the ageing process; and properties of good care'. These themes are discussed from the point of view of their implications for theory, care practice and social policy, and future research

Drug discovery at the site of pulmonary tuberculosis

The protracted duration of standard tuberculosis (TB) therapy suggests the inadequacy of current first line TB drugs to eliminate the causative agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Among multiple potential causes, this may be due to poor distribution of TB drugs into the pulmonary lesions in which the bacilli reside. In attempting to explore this possibility, the study described here aimed to assess selected novel compounds (phenoxazine, artemisinin, and decoquinate derivatives) proposed to induce redox-cycling in efficacious combinations, as well as their distribution to TB-relevant lesions, for potential clinical use against TB. To this end, specific in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) assays were performed to predict the abilities of the compounds to penetrate different TB microenvironments. Penetration into murine blood and organs was assessed via pharmacokinetic (PK) profiling. Complementary analyses involving murine epithelial lining fluid allowed for more detailed analyses of the potential of these novel compounds to penetrate the deeper recesses of the lung. In order to gain a greater understanding of the potential efficacy of the compounds in an intracellular environment, THP-1 macrophage-like cells were infected with Mtb, treated with anti-TB agents, and sampled at different time-points. Samples were analyzed via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assays and drug concentrations were determined and related to efficacy measurements using colony forming unit counts. Promising combinations of novel drugs were identified in a two dimensional synergy assay; these combinations showed synergistic activity in the infected macrophage model. The compounds showed marked differences in their abilities to accumulate within infected macrophages. Differential uptake was also indicated by the results of the PK studies involving murine blood and organ uptake, and the in vitro ADME assays. These results enable PK modelling on the putative drug target to be carried out, allowing for the determination of more accurate dosing. In addition, results indicate the need for further studies, including investigations of the impact of macrophage structural organisation (three-dimensional model) on compound efficacy and in vivo studies in a relevant mouse model of TB disease. The identification of a potentially efficacious two drug combination which might penetrate to the site of pulmonary TB supports the utility of this approach in the preclinical drug discovery and development pipeline

A New Species of Rhinoceros, \u3ci\u3eAphelops kimballensis\u3c/i\u3e, from the Latest Pliocene of Nebraska

An uncrushed skull and associated skeletal elements of a very large rhinoceros are the basis for the description of a new species of Aphelops from Frontier County, Nebraska. The major differences are: the skull is much larger in most dimensions than other Aphelops; it has an extremely elevated occipital region in comparison to Aphelops mutilus; the narial notch is retracted to a point perpendicular to the center of molar one; and the teeth are more hypsodont than any other species of this genus. The sediments which yielded the skull and skeletal parts are considered to be Kimballian in age (latest Pliocene). This giant rhinoceros may represent the last species of the genus Aphelops

A New Rhinoceros from the Nebraska Miocene

A new species of rhinoceros, Menoceras marslandensis, is here proposed. It is based upon a nearly complete skull from the upper part of the Marsland Formation, Hemingford Group (Miocene), of Box Butte County, Nebraska. The new species was probably derived from Menoceras arikarense (Barbour), collected from the Agate Springs Quarries (Arikaree Group, Harrison Formation) of Sioux County, Nebraska, with which both Diceratherium niobrarensis Peterson and D. cooki Peterson are likely synonymous. From Menoceras arikarense, the presumed ancestral stock, Menoceras marslandensis differs in possessing the following characters: (1) very long, fused but slightly cleft, nasals, with flattened, rugose areas at the tips for the support of the horns; and (2) a convex frontal, also roughened, indicating a base for a well-developed frontal horn. This new species provides additional evidence that the generic separation of Menoceras Troxell from Diceratherium Marsh is warranted, and these two genera evidently lived side-byside in the Medial to Late Miocene of the Central Great Plains. Both stocks, each greatly modified, may have survived into the Pliocene

Stratigraphic Occurrences of \u3ci\u3eTeleoceras\u3c/i\u3e with a New KimballianSpecies from Nebraska

Study of Teleoceras remains in the University of Nebraska State Museum indicates that this specialized, short-limbed rhinoceros inhabited the Central Great Plains from Early through Late Pliocene. Previously thought to have become extinct at the end of the middle Pliocene, this genus is now known from the very latest Pliocene. A new species, Teleoceras schultzi, is described from the Kimball Formation, Ogallala Group, Frontier County, Nebraska

The relationship between range of motion and injuries in adolescent dancers and sportspersons: A systematic review

Background: The frequent and intensive training and performance of pre-professional ballet dancers and sportspersons is offered at a time when young ballet dancers and young athletes may be vulnerable to injury due to the progress through adolescence and growth spurts. Hypothesis: There are changes in range of motion during the progress through adolescence and growth periods in dancers and sportspersons. These changes in ROM can be linked to the increase of injury. Objectives: The primary aim of this systematic review is to determine whether there are changes in ROM during the progress through adolescence and growth spurts in dancers and sportspersons. The secondary aim is to determine whether these changes can predict the risk of injuries for adolescent dancers and sportspersons. Search strategy: Pubmed, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trails (CENTRAL), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), EBSCO Host databases: CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, Embase were searched using MeSH terms. Manual search in the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science and screening of the reference lists of identified studies and reviews was conducted. Selection criteria: Studies included adolescent dancers and sportspersons, aged 8–18, both sexes, growth spurt related to changes in ROM and injury incidence. Data collection and analysis: Search strategy was performed in the flow diagram of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Two reviewers independently appraised each included study using Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) for methodological quality of the included studies. For data extraction, the following information was systematically extracted: first author and year of publication, study design, participants (sample size of mean age), age, maturation (if assessed), intervention, outcome(s), and some notes of each study. For evaluation of the risk of bias and precision the Research Triangle Institute Item Bank (RTI-IB) is included. Main results: Seven observational studies met the inclusion criteria of this current review. The results of this review suggest that there are changes in ROM during the progress through adolescence and growth spurts in dancers and sportspersons. These changes may lead to an increase in injury incidence. Conclusion: There is evidence linking to changes in ROM during the progress through adolescence and growth spurts in dancers and sportspersons. These changes in ROM may be related to injury incidence

Paleosols of the Oligocene of Nebraska

Prominent paleosol ( buried or fossil soil) complexes occur at the top of the middle Orella, upper Orella, lower Whitney, and upper Whitney in the Brule formation of Nebraska; and at the top of the Lower Oreodon, Middle Oreodon, Upper Oreodon, and Leptauchenia beds in the Brule deposits of South Dakota. These paleosols have regional distribution and appear to be of value in stratigraphic correlations. Major faunal breaks seem to coincide with important buried soil zones, thus indicating that certain paleosols actually represent unconformities. Some of the soils were developed on old land surfaces where deposition was practically at a standstill for long periods of time. Important valley-fills were associated with the soils which formed on the valley slopes and upland surfaces. Paleosols also are present in the Chadron formation of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. A very prominent paleosol complex (= Interior formation ) , probably of Eocene age, is present at the top of the Pierre shale (below the Chadron deposits) in Sioux County, Nebraska, and adjacent areas. Profile measurements and field study have demonstrated the complex nature of some of these ancient soil horizons

A Middle Miocene Rhinoceros Quarry in Morrill County, Nebraska (with Notes on Hip Disease in Diceratherium)

Extensive deposits of fossil rhinoceros bones have been excavated from University of Nebraska State Museum collecting localities Mo-113, -114, -115, -116, and -118 some 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 miles north of Bridgeport, Morrill County, Nebraska. The fossils were associated with other faunal elements in the lower portion of the Marsland formation (middle Miocene) of the Hemingford group. The rhinoceros is considered to be Diceratherium niobrarensis Peterson, geologic variety. A pathologic right femur of D. niobrarensis provides evidence of hip disease in the medial Miocene rhinoceroses

A Middle Miocene Rhinoceros Quarry in Morrill County, Nebraska (with Notes on Hip Disease in Diceratherium)

Extensive deposits of fossil rhinoceros bones have been excavated from University of Nebraska State Museum collecting localities Mo-113, -114, -115, -116, and -118 some 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 miles north of Bridgeport, Morrill County, Nebraska. The fossils were associated with other faunal elements in the lower portion of the Marsland formation (middle Miocene) of the Hemingford group. The rhinoceros is considered to be Diceratherium niobrarensis Peterson, geologic variety. A pathologic right femur of D. niobrarensis provides evidence of hip disease in the medial Miocene rhinoceroses